Gillespie's bowling becoming a concern.

[Mongoose]

Aus should stick with Gillespie. He's a quality bowler. He's simply short of rhythm and confidence. One good spell could see it all click for him. Sometimes you can be bowling beautifully before the series and then it all goes wrong. It can work the other way round. Gillespie should come good at some point soon. The selector will have faith in his quality coming through.

[Leafy Seadragon]

The world's gone Barmy. An Englishman talking sense telling the Aussies not to get too concerned before the Ashes, it'll all come right.

Couldn't agree with the sentiment more. Just wish he'd sort it out sooner rather than later

[Mongoose]

Even if he bowls crap in the first test, McGrath and Warne should make up for it. Dizzy will produce a performace at some point.

[Junior_Flem]

Originally Posted by Seamer

That is probably what they will do i suspect, JF. My concern is have you noticed how Lee struggles once the shine goes off the ball? And Gillespie needs a proud seam to get movement off the wicket? The only specialist change bowler we have in the squad is Kasprowicz. If we go into the test with three openers, what happens once the ball is 25 overs old?

Yes that is a concern. Lee can tail the ball Irish so he may be ok if used in short bursts. Dizzy is improving but his pace his down. I think that is confidence. He was the same in NZ and once he got his rhythm, he found his pace again. Trouble is, I think time is catching up with him. He's had a lot of injuries and has had more bad patches than good in the past few months. I hope I'm wrong.
Who knows? They may decide to give Tait a run if Lee, Kasper and Dizzy all struggle.

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by Junior_Flem

Trouble is, I think time is catching up with him. He's had a lot of injuries and has had more bad patches than good in the past few months. I hope I'm wrong.

There are two things which might mean a bowler as good as Gillespie loses some of his ability.
1) Injury really has caught up with him, and his body isn't up to it's former exploits
2) He's not as committed any more, and his lack of effort/training/practice is reflected in his performaces.

I would never dream that Dizzy would show a half-arsed attitude. This guy is 100% committed to playing his best. And I also think his body hasn't given up yet. Sure he's had a few injuries, but he's still only 30. Those injuries might catch up with him in a couple of years, but not yet.

So in brief, I expect him to resume normal service soon.

[Junior_Flem]

Originally Posted by Mongoose

There are two things which might mean a bowler as good as Gillespie loses some of his ability.
1) Injury really has caught up with him, and his body isn't up to it's former exploits
2) He's not as committed any more, and his lack of effort/training/practice is reflected in his performaces.

I would never dream that Dizzy would show a half-arsed attitude. This guy is 100% committed to playing his best. And I also think his body hasn't given up yet. Sure he's had a few injuries, but he's still only 30. Those injuries might catch up with him in a couple of years, but not yet.

So in brief, I expect him to resume normal service soon.

I agree with everything you have said and I realise that Dizzy is still young. But he has had a LOT of injuries over the years. That's why i'm thinking what i'm thinking. He struggled last Aussie summer and he struggled in NZ. He's still struggling. That's why I'm concerned that he is past is best. All players go through form slumps but this seems rather lengthy to be just that. As I said, I seriously hope I'm wrong!

[Seamer]

I hope you are wrong too JF. On this one, i too, would quite happily like to be proven wrong as well. I remember what an on-fire Dizzy is like, and i miss seeing it. Maybe if he jumped on to WAT and heard his fellow Aussie's comments, that might do the trick and fire him up.

[Mongoose]

As a Pom I'll be delighted if Dizzy really is past it. He's been in the top 10 in the world for a long time, and I was thinking that he'd give Aus at least some stability while they're trying to replace McGrath and Warne. It looks like all three could be reaching the end of the line at the same time, in the next 2 years or so. I don't know the back-up guys that well, but from what I've heard they're well short of the Pigeon/Dizzy/Warnie calibre.

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by Mongoose

I don't know the back-up guys that well, but from what I've heard they're well short of the Pigeon/Dizzy/Warnie calibre.

They certainly are - just ask Laxman, Sehwag, Dravid and SRT. The Indians feasted on the back-up act the last time they visited the Aussies, and there's no reason to suggest that England or SA would fare any worse.

[Aussie-Yank]

Originally Posted by Maranello 55754

They certainly are - just ask Laxman, Sehwag, Dravid and SRT. The Indians feasted on the back-up act the last time they visited the Aussies, and there's no reason to suggest that England or SA would fare any worse.

The Indian batsmen certainly made a lot of runs, but so did the Australian batsman. The 4 test series was shared 1-1 with 2 draws. The Indian win coming in an Australian 2 innings collapse rather than ineffective bowling. So Australia's back up bowlers where able to compete with India's batsmen in that regards. But certainly lost the penertration that McGrath and Warne bring into the side.